But let us turn back to the football. Whilst he moved to Govan at under five Allan Stewart was born in Kilmarnock, in the next house up the street to Bobby Barr, who went on to play professionally for Stoke and Preston. Stewart was the son of an Ayrshire-born joiner, who in Glasgow ran his own joinery business. And it was still in Govan Allan learned the game and began his football career, at local team, Pilgrims, but was recruited the following season by Queen's Park as the third half-back as the system there changed from two to three. For both Stewart and the Hampden club it was good timing as the following season Rangers would move from Kinning Park to the first Ibrox, and Pilgrims would fold. 

Allan was soon to establish himself at the new, building a reputation for scoring from long-distance, in 1888 becoming club-captain and winning a first cap, scoring, and then a second call-up the following year, when he also turned out for the on-tour, elite, London club, Corinthians. But in 1890, having scored the winning goals in the 1890 Scottish and Glasgow Cup Finals, he at the age of just twenty-five stepped back form the top-flight game. Why is something of a mystery. He did not not marry and does not seem to have done so. His father having died in 1887, his mother continued to live in Govan until at least 1901, dying in Hawick at the age of ninety-three in 1931 so she remained alive in Scotland.